Hungary vetoes EU aid package for Ukraine

Published December 16, 2023
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a European Union summit in Brussels.—Reuters
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a European Union summit in Brussels.—Reuters

BRUSSELS: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed a big Euro­pean Union aid package for Kyiv on Friday, and said he could still halt Ukraine’s accession after EU leaders approved the start of lengthy membership talks.

Leaders of all 27 EU states, except Hungary, agreed at a summit on Thursday to start accession talks with Ukraine despite Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, bypassing Orban’s grievances by getting him to leave the room.

But they could not overcome resistance from Orban to a revamp of the EU budget to channel 50 billion euros ($55bn) to Ukraine and provide more cash for other tasks such as managing migration.

EU leaders said they would continue to help Kyiv. If no deal is found to do so within the EU budget, they will find workarounds, possibly with bilateral aid, they said.

The Kremlin praised the stance taken by Orban, who maintains close ties to Russia, but said the EU decision to open accession talks with Kyiv was politicised and could destabilise the bloc.

Orban, who has a history of trying to use disagreements with other EU leaders for his electoral benefit, told state radio he had blocked the aid package — part of a broader multi-year EU budget plan — to ensure Budapest gets funds from the EU budget that are frozen over concerns about the rule of law in Hungary.

“It is a great opportunity for Hungary to make it clear that it must get what it is entitled to. Not half of it, or one-fourth,” he said.

The European Comm­ission, the EU executive, restored Hungary’s access to 10.2 billion euros of frozen funds on Wed­n­esday after Budapest passed laws addressing some of the EU’s concerns, but funds worth billions of euros remain frozen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the approval of membership talks as a victory for Ukraine and Europe.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.